Speaker
Description
Arms and armour generally supply the most interesting topics for analysis because they employ, for the most pressing reasons, the most advanced technology in any culture at any period. The historical artefacts which display the development of arms and armour over the centuries, are frequently the most fragile. So neutron techniques are vital since they offer completely non-invasive methods of analysis.
The Wallace Collection is a national museum which contains (inter alia) the largest collection of princely European armour in London, and one of the most important collections of Oriental armour in Europe. It has been involved with neutron studies for some years.
Three areas of our research will be discussed. Analysis of Medieval European Armour, Identification of armourers' marks, and the forging of Indo-Persian swords, whose metallurgy is both complex, and totally different to European ferrous metallurgy.
